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NON INVASIVE DETECTION OF MICROBES IN NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS
USING DEEP UV NATIVE FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY AND
HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING
by
Rohit Bhartia
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES)
May 2012
Copyright 2012 Rohit Bhartia

By incorporating new active spectroscopic methods, such as using deep UV lasers (<250 nm) to induced native fluorescence, we envision that we can obtain a better understanding of the spatial distribution of life in natural environments, utilize a novel biosignature that includes aromatic amino acids and support life detection missions on planetary bodies. The ability to specifically detect microbes also aids in ascertaining whether samples, such as meteorites, have been contaminated by terrestrial organisms and provides a means to focus analytical analyses on regions where organics may be concentrated and on uncontaminated regions. Furthermore, the method offers a means by which naturally occurring microbial growth rates can be assessed. Along with exploratory research, issues associated to security and defense, food microbiology, and even corrosion science, are asking similar question, how do we detect and characterize microbial life in natural environments? As such, the research presented shows that deep UV native fluorescence spectroscopy can be used differentiate microbes from other naturally occurring organics as well as minerals. The sensitivity is sufficient to map or image single cells to communities over large spatial areas and this method has been demonstrated to detect microbes living basalts in samples from the deep biosphere as well as those contaminating meteorites. In doing so, the instruments and analysis methods have enabled a new method for detecting microbes and organics that significantly enhances the life detection tools.

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NON INVASIVE DETECTION OF MICROBES IN NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS
USING DEEP UV NATIVE FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY AND
HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING
by
Rohit Bhartia
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES)
May 2012
Copyright 2012 Rohit Bhartia